“This morning, the sun endures past dawn. I realise that it is August: the summer’s last stand.” ― Sara Baume, A Line Made By Walking
A Letter From Our President: Blake Shuart
The Federal Bar Association is without a doubt one of the premier legal organizations in the United States – particularly for practicing attorneys who spend any time in federal court. It has been my honor and privilege to hold various positions in our local FBA chapter for several years and to serve as Chapter President from 2024-2025.
The chapter is very lucky to have Judge Gwynne Birzer taking over as President for the upcoming year – she will be an amazing, visionary leader.
As my term as President comes to a close, I feel it’s a great time to thank all FBA chapter members, judges, lawyers, court personnel and members of the public who have supported our organization over the past year. We have continued to focus heavily on the areas of education and civic outreach, creating materials and holding many public events and CLE presentations focused on the federal courts and the U.S. Constitution. We were also fortunate to get to host our national convention and meetings last September in Kansas City. It was an incredible event.
Our national organization has always been very effective at supporting the federal courts through direct outreach with elected officials at the state and local level, and our individual chapters have a unique ability to (1) reach out to members of the local public – including students at all levels – to educate them about the important functions our federal court performs; and (2) reach out to federal practitioners to provide opportunities for education and direct communication with the local judges and court personnel who make our federal courts function on a daily basis.
Our chapter has many inspired leaders who work toward these goals on a monthly basis, and our local bar has many amazing lawyers who support our organization. I am thankful for all of you and appreciate your continued support. I look forward to staying heavily involved with the FBA for many years to come and thank our FBA chapter for providing me the opportunity to become involved and help lead.
See you all at an event soon!
2025 Law Day Presentations
As recognized by the National Civics Newsletter:
On May 1 & 2 the Chapter for the Districts of Kansas and Western Missouri visited classrooms across NE Kansas and in the Western District Missouri to talk to students about civics and the rule of law.
This year, FBA members including Judges and members of the bar visited over 500 students at 5 schools in three cities. We talked to grade school through high school aged students. This is one of the most impactful projects our Chapter organizes and this year was no exception. Presenters and teachers both expressed how meaningful and worthwhile the experience was.
Event Highlight: Western District of Missouri Hosts United States Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
The Western District of Missouri hosted United States Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on May 7, 2025. Justice Jackson read an excerpt from the preface of her book “Lovely One: A Memoir” a New York Times bestseller, followed by a “fireside chat” discussion with Judge Willie Epps.
FBA executive committee members Eric Turner, Kate Simpson, Judge Stephen Bough, Blake Shuart, Robert Calbi (not pictured), and Danielle Atchison (not pictured) had the opportunity to attend, along with many members of the bench and bar from the Western District and the District of Kansas.
Join us on Zoom the first Thursday of each month at 4:00pm for monthly chapter meetings – open to all members! For more information please email Fedbarkanmo@gmail.com or visit https://fedbar.org/ to join!
CIVIL & CRIMINAL FEDERAL APPELLATE PRACTICE WITH SPECIAL GUEST MODERATOR: HON. RICH FEDERICO
On Thursday, August 21, 2025, our FBA chapter sponsored a Civil & Criminal Federal Appellate Practice CLE with Judge Rich Federico of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit as special guest moderator. Ryan Hudson (Sharp Law) and Austin Gassen (Stinson) were co-presenters on civil topics, and Jared Maag (U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Kansas) and Paige Nichols (Federal Public Defender’s Office) were co-presenters on civil topics.
The event was held at the Carlson Federal Building in Topeka, and a lunch and social event followed the presentations over the lunch hour. The presentations were excellent and a great time was had by all!
